"It was unbelievable," he said. "We just had a great time."

Most followed him home to celebrate.

"My wife went into my closet and pulled out all my Tabasco shirts," said the 42-year-old Perry, referring to a clothing sponsor. "Everyone one of them had Tabasco shirts on."

Country Creek GC in Franklin, Ky., gives owner Perry plenty to smile about. Photo: Darren Carroll

Perry owns a small public course in Franklin called Country Creek, located off I-65. On Sunday, the place was packed when he won.

"They said it was the biggest day money-wise and play-wise for my golf course, ever," he said. "When I play well, they come to my golf course. They want to be out there."

They were out in numbers again last weekend, but not on Sunday when Perry won his second straight at the Memorial Tournament, marking the first back-to-back victories of his career. As fate would have it, the golf tournament was pre-empted by a local children's telethon.

"You can't be mad about something like that, but we didn't like it," said John Jackson, the golf shop manager. "You had to go to Tennessee to watch it."

Which is exactly what Perry's parents did. They drove about 35 minutes to Gallatin to see their son prevail against the likes of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Mike Weir and others.

"It's unbelievable to know that somebody from a town like this is one of the top golfers in the world," said Jackson, who has known Perry for more than 30 years. "He's just a down-to-earth guy and money hasn't changed him a bit."

Quotebook

"I'm still young. Give me a few years. I'm headed for the mental asylum. I'm just on a slower track." -- Charles Howell III, on the mental toll the USGA dishes out at the U.S. Open. "It's wear and tear on your body, traveling, lifting luggage. We are not a team sport like hockey where everything is taken care of. You have to lug your stuff to the airport, luggage is 50 pounds, golf clubs 60 pounds. That's why guys get injured." -- Mike Weir, on the physical toll travel takes on professional golfers. "In terms of golf, she is certainly in the top-five draws in the world. Probably even higher than that. She is nearly next to Tiger in her capacity to draw crowds." -- Padraig Harrington, who had nothing but admiration for Annika Sorenstam's appearance at the Colonial.

Perry loves Franklin, which boasts a population of about 12,000 people, and the feeling is mutual. He doesn't ask for favors and doesn't act like a big shot. In fact, when he's home, he practices on the driving range just like everyone else.

"There's no back side of the range or any special area," Jackson said. "You can tell where he's been because he makes a circle with his divots."

On Monday, a local Wal-Mart sent over cold cuts and a congratulatory cake unannounced. An exhausted Perry showed up later in the afternoon, just in time to eat. On Tuesday, he was back on the course at Country Creek, playing golf with friends.

"Everybody in Franklin is so excited for him," said Jackson. "He's so deserving."

How does Perry spend his spare time? He helps out the local high school golf team, of which his son Justin is a member, and likes to tinker with old race cars at his pal Randall Carver's service station. Perry has even been known to pump gas on occasion, something you won't see Woods doing anytime soon.

Whether he has enough energy left to make a serious run at the U.S. Open next week remains to be seen, but it's been a wild ride. Perry's top showing is a T-25th in 1993, and his best performance in a major was second in the 1996 PGA Championship.

The Fringe, by John Antonini

One week after finishing a disappointing T-40 at the NCAA Division I Women's Championship, Pepperdine's Katherine Hull turned pro with higher expectations. She couldn't have done any better in her first start after a playoff win over Ju Kim in the Futures Tour's Aurora Health Care Charity Classic. Hull rallied from three strokes back with six holes to play and tied Kim at six-under 210 at Ironwood GC in Sussex, Wis. Hull plans to use the Futures Tour as a springboard to the LPGA and needs to finish in the top five on the tour money list to earn a 2004 LPGA card. She debuts at No. 17 on the money list with the $9,800 check, and plans to play the next three tour events before the U.S. Women's Open. ... Carin Koch (above) will return to competition at the Ladies European Tour's Ladies Irish Open, June 13-15. Koch, who gave birth to a son, Simzon, on April 6, also will play the following week in France. The Swedish-born Koch is making her comeback in Europe because she wants to earn a berth on the 2003 European Solheim Cup team. ... Things appear to be slowly turning around for David Duval. After a second-round 69 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Duval played the opening rounds of the Memorial Tournament in 73-72 to make his first tour cut in eight events. Duval, who recently visited swing instructor David Leadbetter and sport psychologist Gio Valiante, shot a pair of 78s on the weekend at Muirfield and finished T-64, worth $10,550. ... D.A. Weibring shot a 67 Sunday in the final round of the Music City Championship, but his Champions Tour debut was undone by opening rounds of 71-73 at Springhouse GC in Nashville. Still, the T-31 finish wasn't bad considering the 50-year-old Weibring had played just one competitive tournament this year (a T-67 at the MCI Heritage on the PGA Tour). "When you don't play, it's hard to turn that on. It's different practicing at home and not in competition," he wrote in a tournament-week diary for the Nashville Tennessean. ... How dominant was Annika Sorenstam's week at the LPGA's Kellogg-Keebler Classic? The two-time champ led the field in driving distance (279.7 yards) and greens hit in regulation (87%) and was third in putts per GIR (1.62). She also missed just five fairways in three rounds, but finished T-21 in that category among players who made the cut. ... PGA Tour rookie Patrick Moore, who has been sidelined because of neck and shoulder pain, was scheduled to make a rehabilitation start at the Nationwide Tour's Henrico County Open at the Dominion Club in Richmond, Va., but he didn't get a chance to defend his crown when persistent rain forced officials to postpone the event. Nationwide Tour tournament director John Slater said he hopes to reschedule the event for July 17-20. Whether Moore returns is uncertain. Sidelined since February, Moore can rehab in up to five Nationwide Tour events before rejoining to the PGA Tour. ... Federica Dassu, 44, won the Spanish Women's Open to become the oldest champion in the history of the Ladies European Tour. Dassu, who hadn't won since 1996, shot a final-round 70 for a six-under 282 and a two-stroke win. The victory comes with a three-year tour exemption, which she may not use. Earlier this year, Dassu announced she would retire after the Evian Masters in July. -- From staff and wire reports

"Hopefully, he'll get some rest and get back in the zone," Jackson said.

Wine tips

Here are five of his favorite reds: Arajo; Berringer Private Reserve; Chateau La Tour; del Valle; and Lokoya.

Chip Shots